From 'Freaks and Geeks' to Oscar hosting, your guide to becoming a true Franco-phile.

From 'Freaks and Geeks' to Oscar hosting, your guide to becoming a true Franco-phile.

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This week we learned that James Franco will host the Oscars alongside Anne Hathaway (prompting thousands of AnneFranco jokes on Twitter), a move that seems devilishly brilliant on the part of the academy. Franco has proved himself to be a shape-shifter can push the boundaries of fame, art, and persona. Yes, the idea of using one's life as "performance art" has less impact when one is pulling in millions of dollars making blockbusters, but no one ever denied Andy Warhol his genius because he made money. Franco knows that he has captured a moment—he's young, handsome, famous, and smart, and he's definitely making the most of it.

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Freak

Franco, born in 1978 in Palo Alto, California, decided to drop out of UCLA to pursue acting—an unpopular decision with his family, but one that seemed to redeem itself when he landed his first big role, a supporting-cast gig in Judd Apatow's brilliant teen drama Freaks and Geeks. Franco played Daniel Desario, a burnout who spent most of his time quarreling with his girlfriend, Kim (played by the irresistible Busy Phillips, now starring in Cougar Town). He was the leader of the freaks, a guitarhead, and older than the rest of his gang (after two years of being held back), making him the kind of charismatic boy that high school girls love to fall for despite their better judgment. We certainly did.

This week we learned that James Franco will host the Oscars alongside Anne Hathaway (prompting thousands of AnneFranco jokes on Twitter), a move that seems devilishly brilliant on the part of the academy. Franco has proved himself to be a shape-shifter can push the boundaries of fame, art, and persona. Yes, the idea of using one's life as "performance art" has less impact when one is pulling in millions of dollars making blockbusters, but no one ever denied Andy Warhol his genius because he made money. Franco knows that he has captured a moment—he's young, handsome, famous, and smart, and he's definitely making the most of it.

Getty

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Freak

Franco, born in 1978 in Palo Alto, California, decided to drop out of UCLA to pursue acting—an unpopular decision with his family, but one that seemed to redeem itself when he landed his first big role, a supporting-cast gig in Judd Apatow's brilliant teen drama Freaks and Geeks. Franco played Daniel Desario, a burnout who spent most of his time quarreling with his girlfriend, Kim (played by the irresistible Busy Phillips, now starring in Cougar Town). He was the leader of the freaks, a guitarhead, and older than the rest of his gang (after two years of being held back), making him the kind of charismatic boy that high school girls love to fall for despite their better judgment. We certainly did.

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Biopic Boy

Franco's physical resemblance to that other rebel icon named James is well-noted, but when director Mark Rydell casting Franco in his 2001 TV biopic about James Dean, magic happened. As EW's Ken Tucker wrote, "Franco could have walked through the role and done a passable Dean, but instead gets under the skin of this insecure, rootless young man." He soon proved his chops again as Sean Penn's boyfriend in Milk, where his honest sensitivity was perfect match for Penn's intensity. As mountain climber Aron Ralston in this fall's 127 Hours, he inspired fainting spells in some viewers during its famously gristly scene—but the ones who stayed conscious witnessed top notch acting.

Focus Features/ Fox Searchlight Pictures

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Superhero

Biopics are good for getting Oscar attention, but to be an A-list star, you have to go big budget. Franco got his own marquee role in the blockbuster Spider-Man franchise, playing Harry Osborn, son of the Green Goblin and Peter Parker's best friend. Though Franco was considered for the title role in the film and lost out to Tobey Maguire, his scene-stealing supporting role still earned him household-name status—laying the groundwork to subvert expectations later on.

Sony pictures

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Stoner

Franco seems to have a brilliant knack for getting involved in Hollywood's coolest cliques, and at the time he made Pineapple Express in 2008, the Frat Pack led by Judd Apatow was owning that town. To co-star in a movie written by Seth Rogen, produced by Apatow—a film that quickly became a classic of the high-times genre—was an excellent chess move. Where Franco as James Dean appealed to the ladies, Franco as greasy drug-dealer Saul was a direct appeal to dudes everywhere.

Columbia Pictures

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Muse

And then it started to get weird (but in a good way.) Before Franco became an artist in his own right, he began inspiring others. New York artist and filmmaker Carter released Erased James Franco, "simultaneously a study of the craft of acting and of the fracturing," according to MoMA, in 2009. The movie features Franco deconstructing famous film performances (Julianne Moore's role in Todd Haynes's Safe and Rock Hudson's in John Frankenheimer's Seconds) out of context, creating a jarring portrait of an actor stripped down to raw talent.

YouTube

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Performance Artist/Curator

Perhaps starring in Carter's film inspired Franco to embrace artistry in full, because the actor's next move was a bizarre role on the daytime soap General Hospital, playing Franco, a performance artist. The actor called his stint in the soap opera an artistic act, and later staged a two-part meta-exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Los Angeles, both as the fictional Franco and as himself, exploring his alter ego.

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Comedian

In 2009, Franco turned his considerable energies on comedy. He had a brilliant guest role on 30 Rock, playing himself—but a version of himself in love with a Japanese body pillow—and a successful hosting stint on SNL. He used his experiences at Saturday Night Live to direct the short film Saturday Night, documenting a week of making the show. Franco the auteur was born.

Courtesy of NBC

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Scholar

Then came the writing and the back-to-school period. Franco, a college dropout, made a very public decision to resume his education in 2006, graduating UCLA in 2008 with an almost perfect GPA. He then enrolled simultaneously in three graduate programs (Columbia for writing, Brooklyn College for writing, and NYU for film) and is now a PhD candidate at Yale. Earlier this year, Franco published a book of short stories, Palo Alto, and also took turns writing for Esquire and McSweeney's.

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James Franco: The Great Chameleon

The Sex Symbol

The movie star solidified his sex symbol status earlier this year when he became the (handsome, chiseled) face of Gucci earlier this year. He was also voted sexiest man alive in 2009 by Salon, with this glowing accolade: "This kid isn't the next James Dean. He's not the next Johnny Depp. Nor is he the next Heath Ledger. He's the next James Franco."